Mark Whipple would mention greatness in passing, a subtle psychological evaluation that started in earnest when Ben Roethlisberger was entering his second NFL season.
Together on a local country club golf course, he would watch his young quarterback stew and sulk over missed shots. Perhaps that was proof that he hates to lose any ground, regardless of significance. Maybe it was nothing.
Inside meeting rooms, he would watch Roethlisberger's face contort at the mention of the others, a group of quarterbacks drafted ahead of him in 2004. Eli Manning went No. 1 overall to the Chargers, and Philip Rivers No. 4 to the Giants. This could be evidence that he wanted to secure his place in history and prove all his detractors wrong. Maybe Roethlisberger was just easily annoyed.
Sometimes, Whipple liked to bring up the Cleveland Browns, a team located just two hours east of Roethlisberger's hometown of Findlay, Ohio. They passed him up too, opting to draft Kellen Winslow Jr. and start a platoon of quarterbacks that included Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown and Kelly Holcomb.
He hated that, too. Check.
"He's always used certain things to motivate him, and as a coach, I used certain things to motivate him," Whipple, Roethlisberger's first NFL quarterbacks coach, said in a phone conversation. "Tom Brady had the whole sixth-round draft choice thing and Ben had all the quarterbacks taken in front of him.
"I think all competitors use certain things to motivate themselves, and I think he uses that. But that's anything you do with him. It's ping pong, too."
Whipple, now the head coach at UMass, considers himself lucky because he knew early. Tommy Maddox, the quarterback Roethlisberger replaced, promised the coach he hadn't seen a makeup like that since John Elway. Whipple dug in for himself and came out with the same conclusion so long as the attitude meshed with the skills.
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Originally Posted by Dwinsgames
Enthroned Into The Good Old Boys Club - 2024 
